General Information

General History Of Monongalia County

As one of three counties created by an act of the
Virginia General Assembly in October of 1776, Monongalia
County is known as the mother county for northern West
Virginia because many other counties were created from its
original territory. Several Pennsylvania counties were
created when the Mason Dixon line was accepted as the
defining border of Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania. The
process of approving the separation began in 1779 and was
officially agreed to by the states in 1784.

The Mound Builders, also known as the Adena people,
were the first native settlers in what is now north central
West Virginia. Included in this general area were Barbour,
Harrison, Marion, Monongalia and Preston counties. The
Mound Builders civilization is confirmed by highly
concentrated areas of artifacts located in Moundsville.
Moundsville is the location of the Grave Creek Indian Mound
which is one of West Virginia’s most famous historic
landmarks. The “Mound” stands 69 feet high with
a diameter of 295 feet and is more than 2,000 years old.

Monongalia County has a rich history of Indian tribes
who used this area as their hunting grounds. Those tribes
would eventually migrate northward to New York.

According to history, Thomas Decker established the
first settlement in present day Monongalia County during the
fall of 1758. He led a group of settlers to Decker’s
Creek that was later destroyed in the spring by a party of
Delaware and Mingo Indians. All but one of the original
settlers, including Thomas Decker, were killed or captured
in the attack.

David Morgan and his younger brother Zackquill Morgan
were believed to be the next to attempt a permanent
settlement in Monongalia County in 1766 or 1767. Zackquill
Morgan received a legal certificate for 400 acres of land in
the Morgantown area in 1781. As a result of Colonel
Morgan’s request, the Virginia General Assembly
specified that 50 acres of his land was to be laid out in
lots of a half acre each and a town, named Morgans-Town was
established on the site in October of 1785; Morgantown now
being the county seat of Monongalia County.

Monongalia County had a population of 4,768 in 1790
when the first national census was taken. This made the
county the sixth largest in population of the nine counties
that were then in existence.

In 1804 the Monongalia Gazette and
Morgantown Advertiser became the first newspaper
published west of the Alleghenies.

In 1866, as a result of Moundsville preferring to
host the state penitentiary instead of a university, West
Virginia University began its operation with six professors
and six students. By 1885, the University consisted of
three buildings that accommodated 107 students and twelve
professors.

Morgantown’s first commercial enterprise was a
grist mill owned by Michael Kerns around 1772. That was
followed by the town’s first general store owned by
Thomas Laidley and the first tavern owned by Zackquill
Morgan. The first ordinance created by the town’s
trustees was in 1810. It was one that could impose a fine
for galloping horses in the streets and another regulating
the hours of the Market House, which was the only place in
town allowed to sell meat.

By 1910 the areas population had grown to 9,000 and
continued its growth to 13,000 by 1920.

Monongalia County consists of 368.82 square miles and
includes the following municipalities: Blacksville,
Granville, Morgantown, Star City and Westover, each having
it’s own elected Mayor and council members.

The county is bordered on the north by the State of
Pennsylvania, the east by Preston County, the west by Wetzel
County and Marion County to the south.